ALTA CUSCALOOSA, AL First- and second-year players frequently play important and early snaps for the Alabama football team.
Several true freshmen have already made significant contributions this season, including Caleb Downs, Kadyn Proctor, and Jalen Hale. Redshirt freshmen and sophomores like Tyler Booker, Isaiah Bond, Kobe Prentice, Jihaad Campbell, and others have also shown a lot of play.
The home game against Chattanooga on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+/SEC Network+ may present a great chance for more younger players to see more playing time.
The Mocs, who are 7-3 in the Southern Conference, are the only team that might be comparable to the Crimson Tide going into Tuscaloosa. Chattanooga in the FCS and Alabama in the CFP are two teams that are hoping to make the playoffs this year.
Otherwise, Alabama has no intention of playing with its food; it needs to win to even have a chance at the College Football Playoff, so this is very much a late-season cupcake game.
The chance to play in a game that (Chattanooga) fans have likely only dreamed of is fantastic, Saban said on Monday. “We need to approach this game in terms of what our focus is and how we want to continue to improve as a team,” he continued.
“You cannot have peaks and valleys if you are going to peak at the appropriate moment. You must continue traveling in the proper direction.
In this game, younger players should have plenty of opportunities to see the field and play significant snaps, assuming the Tide win handily and take a commanding lead at the half.
We wish to see who? The following 15 players are the ones we hope see more playing time this Saturday:
OLB Jeremiah Alexander
This season, the redshirt freshman has played five snaps: two against Middle Tennessee in Week 1 and three against Kentucky on Saturday. He’s logged two tackles so far. He is ranked behind Chris Braswell and Keanu Koht as the third-string JACK.
Alexander will have the chance to compete for a bigger role in the upcoming season because both Braswell and Dallas Turner will play on Sundays. Perhaps on Saturday, he will play a few series against Chattanooga to see what he can do.
This season, we’ve seen brief glimpses of the true freshman. He has played 28 offensive snaps over the course of four games, rushing 16 times for 95 yards (5.94 yards per carry), mostly in the closing stages of games. In nine games, he has also played 65 special teams snaps and recorded one tackle.
We haven’t seen Haynes much because of a few factors: Although Haynes has struggled in pass protection and wore a large brace on his left arm against Kentucky, Jam Miller has emerged as the third running back in recent weeks, outsnapping Williams 18–17. Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams have more experience.
